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Darts games and how to play them

DartsKEY has 16 games, all scored by your phone's camera; 14 of them also work with DartBot and online. Here are the rules for each, as they work in the app.

The classic

X01: 301, 501, 701, 901

The most played darts game in the world. Start on your number, subtract every visit, finish on exactly zero.

How to play X01

Get from 501 (or 301, 701, 901) to exactly zero.

  1. Each player throws three darts per visit. The total is subtracted from their score.
  2. The first player to reach exactly zero wins the leg.

Bust

Going below zero is a bust: that visit doesn't count and the turn ends. In a double-out game you also bust on 1, or on reaching zero without a double.

Beginner's tip

Aim to leave 32 (double 16). Miss into single 16 and you're on 16 (D8), then 8 (D4), and so on, never stuck on an odd number.

In and out rules

Choose how a leg starts and how it ends.

  • Straight In: any dart starts scoring.
  • Double In: nothing counts until you hit a double; after that, every dart counts.
  • Master In: start with any double or treble.
  • Straight Out: finish on any segment.
  • Double Out: the most common rule. Your last dart must be a double (the bullseye counts).
  • Master Out: finish on a double or a treble.

In DartsKEY

  • Legs & sets, first to 1–6
  • Up to 6 players locally
  • DartBot
  • Online & doubles
  • Checkout calls

Scoring X01 in DartsKEY

Camera, tap or keypad. With the keypad, you check the in and out rules yourself.

  • Input Each Dart: the camera scores every dart. Or turn it off and tap where each dart hit.
  • Input Each Round: type the visit total, such as 60 or 100, on a keypad. This mode is manual only.

Stats you'll see

3-dart average (PPR), first 9 average, checkout %, 100+/140+/180 counts and a heat map of every leg.

Tactics & nerve

Cricket: 5 ways to play

Close the numbers 15 to 20 and the bull, then score on the ones your opponent hasn't closed.

Standard Cricket

The original. Close everything with the most points.

  • Targets: 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and the bull.
  • A single is 1 mark, a double 2, a treble 3. Three marks close a number.
  • Once you've closed a number, further hits score points, as long as someone else still has it open. Online, you stop scoring while 200 or more points ahead.
  • When every player has closed a number, it's dead.
  • Win by closing everything with equal or more points. Local games end after 20 rounds, when the highest score wins.

In DartsKEY

  • First to N legs
  • MPR stats
  • DartBot
  • Online

Tactics

Played like Standard Cricket, on 20 to 15 and the bull.

  • Same targets: 20 to 15 and the bull. Three marks to close.
  • Once you've closed a number your opponent hasn't, further hits score points.
  • Win by closing every number with equal or more points than your opponents.

Cut Throat

Your points go to your opponents. Lowest score wins.

  • Played like Standard Cricket, but when you score on a closed number, the points go to every opponent who hasn't closed it.
  • The winner is the first to close all numbers with the lowest (or equal lowest) score.
  • Needs at least 2 players.

No Score Cricket

Pure race: no points, just closing.

  • Same as Standard Cricket without points. The first to close every number wins.

Random Cricket

Same game, new numbers every time.

  • Standard Cricket rules, but the cricket numbers are chosen at random each game.

Get better

Practice drills

Structured routines for accuracy, doubles and checkouts. Every dart is logged, so you can see your progress.

Around the Clock

Hit 1 to 20, then the bull, in order.

  • You can't move on until you hit your current number.
  • Uses the whole board, so it's great all-round practice.
  • The first player to hit every number through the bull wins.

JDC Challenge

A three-part test of trebles and doubles.

  1. Shanghai 10–15: three darts at each number. Hits score their value; the single, double and treble together add a 100-point bonus.
  2. Doubles round: one dart at each double from D1 to D20 then the bull, three per turn, 50 points per double hit (100 for the bull).
  3. Shanghai 15–20: back to Shanghai scoring for the big numbers.

Score guide

White 0–149 · Purple 150–299 · Yellow 300–449 · Green 450–599 · Blue 600–699 · Red 700–849 · Black 850+

41–60

Checkout practice from 41 up to 60.

  • Start on 41 with three darts to finish it on a double (or the bullseye).
  • Finish it and move up to the next number. Miss and you try the same number again.
  • Busts (below zero, leaving 1, or zero without a double) reset that number.
  • You don't have to use all three darts.

Catch 40

Checkouts from 61 to 100, in a shuffled order.

  • Finish each checkout within 6 darts.
  • 2 darts = 3 points, 3 darts = 2 points, 4–6 darts = 1 point.
  • 99 is the exception: a 3-dart finish earns 3 points.

Game night

Party games

Quick to learn, loud to play. Perfect for a group, and DartBot can fill a seat.

Killer

Hit your double, become a Killer, take everyone else's lives.

  • Each player gets a number and three lives.
  • Hit the double of your own number to become a Killer.
  • Killers aim at opponents' doubles. Every hit costs that player a life.
  • Hit your own double as a Killer and you lose a life. Yes, you can kill yourself!
  • Last player with lives wins. In doubles, each team shares a number and three lives.

Shanghai

Work round the board, and win outright with a Shanghai.

  • Throw at 1 to 20 in order. Only darts in that round's number score.
  • The highest score at the end wins, unless someone hits a Shanghai first: a single, double and treble of the target in one visit, which wins instantly.

Bermuda

13 rounds. Miss a target and your score is halved.

  • Targets in order: 12, 13, 14, any double, 15, 16, 17, any treble, 18, 19, 20, any bull, bullseye.
  • Hit the target at least once in your three darts, or your score is cut in half.
  • In the any-bull round every bull counts 25. Highest score after round 13 wins.

Half It

Nine targets, 40 points to start, and no hiding.

  • Rounds: 15, 16, any double, 17, 18, any treble, 19, 20, bull.
  • Miss all three darts at the target and your score is halved.
  • Highest score wins. Online, a tie goes to the higher marks per round.

Hammer Cricket

Eight rounds of escalating darts, and a hammer if you miss.

  • Online targets: 20, 19, 18, Wild, 17, 16, 15, Wild, where a Wild round picks a random number from 12–20 or the bull. In Local Play the targets are 20 down to 15, then two bull rounds.
  • Dart one scores normally, dart two double, dart three triple (×3 and ×5 in the final round).
  • Miss all three and the hammer drops: you lose 3× that round's target.

Gotcha

Race to the target score, and knock opponents back to zero.

  • Score exactly the target: 302 by default, adjustable up to 702.
  • Match an opponent's total and their score resets to zero. Gotcha!
  • Going over the target is a bust: your score goes back to where the visit started.

Who throws first?

Closest to Bull

Each player throws one dart at the bull, and the closest throws first. DartsKEY ranks the darts by position: inner bull, outer bull, inner single, treble, outer single, double, miss. It's on by default for X01 with two or more players; online it needs Input Each Dart.

Set up your camera
Close view of a player's dartboard around the bull

Unlock your game.

Put your phone by the board and let DartsKEY keep score. You just throw.

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DartsKEY logo: a dart through a keyhole on a dartboard